Teen Fit: Fitness made accessible for teens

When to start?

First of all, we want to emphasise the importance of physical activity for young people, both for body and mind. The earlier a child starts sport, the sooner they will develop good habits that they will keep for life. So forget that old misconception that sport stunts growth, it is completely untrue!

Many studies, such as that of the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP, 2020), recommend strength training, also called resistance training, for children and adolescents, provided they are supervised. And it is this detail that changes everything: supervision. Young people can quickly get lost in the gym and risk turning to the wrong exercises or loading too much weight by wanting to imitate adults and risk injuring themselves. That is why we do not recommend taking out a gym membership alone before the age of 16. On the other hand, in the right conditions and under the eye of a professional, strength training promotes the development of muscular strength in young people, improves body composition, strengthens bone mineral density and helps prevent sports injuries.

There is therefore no defined answer on the age at which to start. As soon as your child feels ready to follow their coach's instructions, they can begin training. Most children already do strength-training exercises without realising it during gymnastics lessons from primary school onwards. At Mounier Fitness Club, we have decided to open the Teen Fit class from the age of 12, a decisive age, because many adolescents unfortunately give up sport.

How does the class work?

Teen Fit is an introductory class to fitness and the various activities that strength training encompasses. And yes, lifting weights is only a tiny part of what we do in the gym. Young people will be able to discover many exercises using body weight or a range of equipment such as resistance bands, TRX straps, swiss balls and more, familiarise themselves with our group classes but also work on their cardio and flexibility during complete sessions from warm-up to stretching.

Each new skill is learned progressively. We work over a minimum of 3 sessions, to allow teens to develop technique before thinking about adding difficulty or even weight. We emphasise the importance of understanding your body, breaking down the movements to be performed, understanding which muscles to engage, which joints to use for each new exercise. Here, young people are there to learn at their own pace, according to their level and physical maturity; performance will follow over time and with regularity.

With whom?

After reading about the importance of coaching, it is normal to wonder who will be responsible for supervising your teenagers. They are supervised by one of our qualified sports coaches, Vadim. Always smiling and caring, Vadim does everything to ensure that everyone has a good time in the fitness gym. For him, a successful class is one you leave with a smile! This former junior French boxing world champion knows the importance of mindset, motivation and encouragement for athletes of all ages.

When?

We will see you at the fitness gym every Wednesday, either at 2pm or at 3pm for a 50 min class.

If this new class interests you, you can contact our fitness gym via fitness@mounier.be or go to the activity page for more information.